Valley Grande just grew by almost 7,000 acres.

At Monday’s Valley Grande Town Council meeting, a unanimous vote by the council and mayor annexed 6,684 acres into the town. It was the second phase of three planned annexation stages.

Areas annexed Monday night roughly include the southern Summerfield area starting at Kenan’s Mill, extending north to approximately Valley Creek Church Road and west to Ocmulgee Estates.

Flipping through a list of property owners petitioning to be annexed, Story noted a number of them hailed from distant cities &045;&045; Foley, Dothan, Birmingham, for example.

Before the vote, Story read from the single copy of the ordinance and petition. He had received it just after 5 p.m.; the meeting began at 7 p.m.

Story emphasized while reading the petition that the council wasn’t forcing annexation on anyone. The petition requested Valley Grande annex Summerfield.

After explaining the ordinance, council and mayor voted unanimously to suspend parliamentary rules so they could vote on annexation immediately. A vote to annex the proposed area then passed unanimously.

The ordinance will be placed in three public locations and the annexation will become effective five days afterward.

The first annexation stage occurred May 5 and also passed unanimously. It included areas surrounding the town’s original incorporated area.

In other matters the council:

The company collecting Valley Grande’s taxes &045;&045; Alatax &045;&045; wants to ensure it hasn’t missed anyone, Story said. The council will examine the list at a later date.